RU2343094C2 - Container blank and container manufactured from it - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: transport; packing.

SUBSTANCE: blank consists of side forming bottom and two opposite side walls. Said walls are connected along bordering lines. Blank is characterised by intersection of front border line and respectively rear borderline and upper part and lower part forming angles of parallelogram inclined against longitudinal axis of container blank. Front borderline forms acute angle of parallelogram as referred to lower part. Front borderline and interim borderline render essentially symmetrical form to central part along longitudinal axis of container blank. Container is also represented manufactured by filling-in of said blank.

EFFECT: reduction of material consumption in manufacturing of container, good container stability.

11 cl, 4 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a container blank comprising a bottom forming wall and two opposite side walls, said walls joining along boundary lines to form a substantially flat container blank. The invention also relates to a container, which is obtained by filling such a container blank.

State of the art

The container blank, and especially the container of the type indicated in the introduction, are known, for example, from WO 99/41155, which describes a folding type container consisting of three sections of walls, two of which form opposite side walls, and the third forms the bottom wall. Walls made of flexible plastic material can be bent and interconnected to form a chamber, the volume of which depends on the relative position of the walls. When empty, the container and thus the container blank are flat.

The simplest type of container blank is a straight geometric shape. If a carrying means is to be provided in such a straightforward container blank, it is formed by the corner forming the handle or the side of the container blank formed by the connecting part. This means that the chamber in the container obtained from the container blank will have an asymmetric shape instead of a symmetrical and thus well balanced shape. A filled container having such an asymmetric chamber tends to tip forward when used, since the center of gravity moves to the position in front of the central axis of the container blank. The tipping tendency also means that a flexible container which, due to its sliding device, does not have rigidity, may in some cases tend to roll over at its front edge, like a filled bag placed at its end. This can be observed in the form of wrinkling along the connecting part, in particular along the front edge of the container. Creasing may adversely affect the appearance of the container. In addition, during prolonged careless handling of the container, for example, during transportation on rough roads, damage to the material of the container caused by wear is sometimes possible.

The problems associated with the movement of the center of gravity and the subsequent formation of folds will be complicated if the container blank and the container made from it have an external curvature, such as shown in the aforementioned publication WO 99/41155. In practice, bends, especially steep ones, increase the tendency to crease. In addition, such bends imply an increase in material consumption in the manufacture of the container blank.

Objectives of the present invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an alternative improved container blank. The container blank should provide a well-balanced folding container with a reduced tendency to tilt.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a container blank containing a portion of the handle for convenient grip of the handle.

An additional goal is to reduce material consumption.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve at least one of these goals, as well as additional unspecified goals that, however, will be obvious from the following description, according to the present invention, a container blank having the features of claim 1 is created. Preferred embodiments will become apparent from the claims. 2-10. The invention also relates, according to claim 11, to a container, which is obtained by filling the container blanks mentioned above.

In the following description of the invention, a number of terms will be used to describe the geometric shape of the container blank. The term “boundary line” refers to a portion of a connecting portion. The front and rear boundary lines refer, in text, to the outer contours of the container blank at the front and rear edges, respectively, and more specifically to the upper boundary line of the lower part, which is located essentially at the same level as the bend of the W-shaped folded wall, forming the bottom. By “trailing edge” is meant that side of the container blank on which the handle portion is placed. The term "lower section" refers to the part formed by a W-shaped folded wall along the longitudinal axis of the flat preform of the container. By “upper portion” is meant the upper portion of the container blank that substantially corresponds to the portion of the container located above the liquid level in the container obtained from the container blank and filled at least 80% of the container volume.

More specifically, a container blank has been created comprising a bottom-forming wall and two opposite side walls, said walls being connected along boundary lines to form a substantially flat container blank, and having an upper portion, a lower portion, a central portion formed by an upper portion and a lower portion, and also the front boundary line and the intermediate boundary line, and these sections are located along the longitudinal axis of the container blank, and the handle portion formed by the intermediate g anichnoy line and a rear boundary line. The container blank is characterized in that the intersections between the front boundary line and, respectively, the rear boundary line and the upper section and the lower section form the angles of the parallelogram containing the angle of inclination relative to the longitudinal axis of the container blank, while in the parallelogram the front boundary line forms an angle that is sharp in the direction of the lower section, and the front boundary line and the intermediate line along the longitudinal axis of the container blanks give the Central section essentially symmetrical truncated cone shape.

A parallelogram formed by these intersections and having an acute angle formed in this way with a longitudinal axis, in combination with the essentially symmetrical shape of the truncated cone of the central section, allows some very important properties to be obtained.

With the help of the central section, made in the form of a symmetric truncated cone, where the front boundary line forms an angle that is sharp in the direction of the lower section, a compensating effect is achieved. When such a container blank is filled with contents, the initially diverging front and intermediate boundary lines will tend to achieve a parallel arrangement. This is the result of successive expansion of the walls of the container blank during filling. Subject to optimization of the indicated angle, the initially symmetric shape of the truncated cone of the lower portion in the filled container will essentially correspond to a straight cylinder. The container obtained from the container blank according to the invention will thus be very well balanced with a minimum risk of tipping over.

The angular shape of the parallelogram compensates for any tendency to tilt forward the container obtained from the container blank. It should be noted that the filled container contains a column of liquid, which is partially enclosed in the central section, and partially in the lower section. In the container blank of the present invention, the angle of inclination of the parallelogram can be adjusted so that the center of gravity of that part of the liquid column that is enclosed in the central portion does not move to a position on the opposite side of the longitudinal axis of the container blank. An optimally balanced filled container is obtained when the center of gravity of that part of the liquid column which is enclosed in the central section coincides with the part of the liquid column which is enclosed in the lower section. In this case, the angle of inclination depends on the height of the container blank and the cross-sectional shape that occurs in the filled container obtained from the container blank.

As the tipping tendency decreases, the tendency to crease along the edge of the container will also decrease. Thus, the container obtained from the container blank will be more attractive from an aesthetic point of view, and the risk of damage due to wear will be reduced.

The shape of the truncated cone also leads to a low center of gravity in the container made from the container blank, which means that the container will stand stably on the base.

The handle portion provides a large gripping surface, which, for example, will be provided with a suitable opening pattern for gripping the container or for accommodating a gas-filled tube forming the handle.

The front boundary line preferably has a concave curvature with respect to the central portion. Concave curvature can be used to form a tubular nose shaped tool in the upper portion. The concave curvature in combination with the central section in the shape of a truncated cone leads, as mentioned above, to a low center of gravity of the filled container.

It is also desirable that the front boundary line has a curvature substantially complementary to the rear boundary line. As a result, two consecutive container blanks in a continuous strip of container blanks can be placed so that the rear boundary line of the first container blank connects to the front boundary line of the second container blank next to the first. Thus, material consumption is significantly reduced.

In another preferred embodiment, the handle portion comprises a handle forming tubular means for filling with gas. Such a tubular means makes the container obtained from the container blanks very comfortable to grip, since the gas-filled tubular means serves as a three-dimensional convenient grip. In addition, it serves to increase the rigidity of the “spine” of the final container, which counteracts any tendency to wrinkle along the connecting section of the container during careless handling or transportation.

It is also desirable that the lower portion and the central portion form together in a container made of a container blank a volume corresponding to at least 80% of the volume of the container.

It is desirable that the container blank contains tubular means for filling and extending inside the container blank, and for this, the tubular means for filling is narrowed inside the container blanks. The geometrical shape of the constriction provides a snug fit to the filling medium, which is intended for use when filling the container blank, which reduces the risk of air penetration, foaming, as well as leakage.

It is also desirable that the container blank contains tubular means in the form of a spout with a closed end section and an incision to start rupture. This end section is completely or partially separated from the rest of the tubular means in the form of a nose by a zone weakened by thinning of the material, and the end section can be manually separated from the rest of the tubular means in the form of a spout.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a container obtained by filling in a container blank as claimed in any one of paragraphs. 1-10.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrating the currently preferred embodiment of the invention. In the drawings:

figure 1 is a view of a flat billet container according to the present invention;

figure 2 is a schematic side view of a container blank;

figure 3 is a view of a part of a continuous strip of blanks of the container;

figure 4 is a view of a filled container obtained from the blank of the container of figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1 shows an embodiment of a container blank according to the present invention.

The container blank 1 consists of two opposite side walls 2 and an intermediate bottom 3 forming a wall 3 extending along the lower edge of the container blank 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom-forming wall 3 can be made by folding a continuous strip of material in the form of a W when the side walls 2, as well as the bottom-forming wall 3, are integral. Another alternative is to insert the bottom-forming wall, folded in half, between two opposite bands of material forming the side walls.

The material may be conventional flexible packaging materials, such as, for example, plastic. However, in order to protect the environment, it is preferable to use a packaging laminate that contains a core layer with a mineral filler and a polyolefin binder.

Walls 2, 3 are connected along a peripheral continuous connecting section 4 to form a closed container blank 1. It should be understood that the connecting portion 4 is not continuous along the entire periphery if the bottom-forming wall is made by folding in the shape of W. The container blank 1 is made so as not to open until filling to form a complete container 21 (see FIG. 4). It should be noted that the container shown in FIG. 4 is shown very schematically. The geometric shape and in particular the shape of the central portion and the lower portion will depend, thanks to the sliding device, on the degree of filling. The term “container” 21 further refers to a filled container 21 obtained from a container blank 1. The connecting portion 4 thus forms, together with the walls 2, 3, a chamber 22 in the container 21, the volume of which depends on the relative position of the walls 2, 3 and, thus, on the degree of filling of the container. This means that the container refers to a folding type container. The connecting portion 4 is preferably formed by walls 2, 3 included in the container blank and welded together. Other methods are also possible.

The connecting portion 4 can be divided into a number of parts, which will hereinafter be referred to as boundary lines and which will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container blank 1 for description purposes is divided into an upper portion 5, a central portion 6, a lower portion 7, and a handle portion 8. The upper portion 5 refers to the upper part of the container blank 1, which essentially corresponds to the portion of the container 21 located above the liquid level LL of the container 21, which is made from the container blank 1 and which is filled to at least 80% of the container volume (see FIG. .four). Thus, it turns out that the upper section 5, due to the flexible material of the container and the sliding device of the container, is not limited to the same line in the container blank as in the container. Moreover, its formation depends on the geometric shape of the container blank. Therefore, the boundary between the upper portion and the central portion shown in FIG. 1 is highly schematic. The lower portion 7 corresponds to the portion of the flat blank 1 of the container, which is formed by the bottom 3 forming the bottom. The central portion 6 corresponds to the portion that is formed by the upper portion 5, the lower portion 7, the front boundary line 9 and the intermediate boundary line 13. The front boundary lines 9 extend along the front edges 11 of the blank 1 container. The rear boundary lines 10 extend along the rear edge 12 of the container blank 1. Between the front 9 and rear 10 boundary lines runs an intermediate boundary line 13, which together with the rear boundary line 10 forms a portion 8 of the handle. The handle portion 8 may thus constitute a separate portion, or it may also form part of the upper portion.

The intersections A, B, C, D between the front boundary line 9, the upper section 5, the lower section 7 and, more specifically, the upper boundary line 23, which is located essentially at the same level as the fold forming the bottom of the wall, folded in the form W and the rear boundary line 10 are arranged so that they form the corners of the geometric shape essentially in the form of a parallelogram, indicated by a dotted line. The parallelogram has an inclination angle α to the longitudinal axis L of the container blank 1. The inclination angle α is such that the front boundary line 9 forms an angle that is sharp towards the lower portion 7. The required angle depends, inter alia, on the height of the container blank and the geometric shape of the cross section along the longitudinal axis formed by the bottom wall and the lateral walls respectively. The angle α of inclination will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the front boundary line 9 has a curvature substantially complementary to the rear boundary line 10, at least along the central portion 6. The reason for this is primarily material saving, since there are two consecutive ones the container blanks 1, 1 ′ in a continuous strip 20 of container blanks can be arranged so that the front boundary line 9 of the first container blank 1 is directly connected to the rear boundary line 10 ′ of the next second container blank 1 ′ but.

As shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate boundary line 13 has such a length that, in cooperation with the front boundary line 9, it gives the central portion 6 a substantially symmetrical shape with respect to the longitudinal axis L. Due to the curvature of the front 9 and intermediate 13 boundary lines mentioned above, the symmetrical central section 6 has the shape of a truncated cone.

The intermediate boundary line 13 in cooperation with the rear boundary line 10 forms, by means of a parallelogram and a symmetrical central portion 6, the angle of the container blank 1, which forms the handle portion 8. This surface is easy to grip regardless of its shape. Section 8 of the handle may be provided, for example, with an opening pattern (not shown) for the fingers of a user or part of his hand. Thus, the container can be easily grabbed as a jug. The handle portion 8 may also be provided with tubular means 15, which are filled with air or some other gas in combination with filling the container blank 1 with its contents to form a finished container. Such an air-filled tubular means 15 forms a very convenient three-dimensional handle. It also serves to increase the rigidity of the “spine” of the container, which, on the one hand, provides stability, and, on the other hand, counteracts any tendency to wrinkle.

If the handle section 8 is provided with such tubular means 15, it is desirable that the handle section 8 has an opening 16 in its upper part. The opening 16 is primarily intended to serve as a lifting bracket if the containers, for example, when shipped to a store, are placed close to each other friend in the vehicle in such a way when it is not easy to reach the handles. In this position, the individual container can be easily grasped by inserting a finger into the lifting eye so that the container can be lifted.

As mentioned above, the front boundary line 9 preferably has a concave curvature with respect to the central portion 6. This concave curvature together with the upper portion 5 forms tubular means 17 in the form of a spout in the container blank 1 through which the finished container 21 is emptied by performing a pouring movement. The spout-shaped tubular means 17 is closed at the end portion 18 by a part of the connecting portion 4. The spout-shaped tubular means 17 is made, like the rest of the container blank 1, of a mineral-based filler such as chalk or talc in combination with a polyolefin binder. When opening the finished container 21, the outer portion of the tubular means 17 is cut off or torn off so that the chamber 22 can communicate with the environment.

If the end portion 18 is intended to be torn off, the end portion 18 is completely or partially separated from the rest of the tubular means 17 in the form of a nose by zone 19, weakened by thinning the material. The weakened zone 19 is so strong that the end portion 18 along the zone can be separated manually from the rest of the tubular means 17 in the shape of a spout. Attenuation can be accomplished by exposing the zone to heat or pressure, or a combination thereof. After such processing, the selected type of material may become brittle, that is, fit for tearing.

The container blank 1 also comprises in its upper section 5 a tubular means 14 for filling. As shown in FIG. 1, the tubular means 14 extends into the container blank 1. Moreover, it partially narrows inside the container blank. The tubular means 14 is closed by a part of the connecting portion 4. When connected for filling, the tubular means is opened to introduce filling means (not shown), after which it is closed again. Thus, it should be noted that the container blank 1 is completely closed by the connecting portion until it is filled with its contents to form a container. Moreover, the initially sterile container blank does not need to be re-sterilized during the filling operation.

As mentioned above, the container blanks 1 are made of continuous strips of material forming a continuous strip of container blanks 20 (see FIG. 3). The container blanks 1 are placed side by side so that the front boundary line 9 of the first container blank 1 is directly adjacent to the rear boundary line 10 'of the second container blank 1 following the first container blank. Thus, as mentioned above, the front boundary line 9 should have the same curvature as the rear boundary line 10, at least along the central portion 6. As mentioned above, the connecting part 4 is preferably formed by welding.

Before the thus formed continuous strip of container blanks 20 is wound onto a roll for further dispatch, excess material is cut between two successive container blanks by a die. Examples of excess material are the material between the lower sections 7, the material between the upper sections 5 and the material in the opening 16 forming the lifting eye. The amount of excess material and its location depend, of course, on the contour of the container blank. Stamping preferably occurs when a continuous strip of container blanks passes through a drum die.

Figure 4 shows a filled container 21, which is obtained from the container blank 1 according to the above description.

The container 21 includes a chamber 22, which is essentially formed by the connecting section 4, i.e. boundary lines 9, 10, 13 and walls 2, 3 included in the container. The chamber 22 has a maximum volume that exceeds the volume for which the container 21 is designed. This is necessary because the material of the container is flexible and the container 21 is of a folding type. When opening the container 21, which occurs by separating part of the tubular means 17 in the form of a spout, it becomes possible to capture the container without compressing a column of liquid in the chamber, which could lead to uncontrolled leakage of liquid from the tubular means 17 in the form of a spout. Therefore, the volume for which the container 21 is designed corresponds essentially to the volume or column of liquid in the chamber 22, which is formed by the lower section 7 and the central section 6. As mentioned above, the lower section 7 and the central section 6 must together form at least 80% of the estimated container volume. The liquid level of this liquid column is schematically shown in FIG. 4 by the LL line.

The central portion 6 has, as mentioned above, a substantially symmetrical shape associated with the front boundary line 9 and the intermediate boundary line 13. Symmetry in the optimally balanced container 21 means that the center of gravity CG-M of the portion of the liquid column enclosed in the central portion 6, essentially coincides with the center of gravity CG-B of the portion of the liquid column enclosed in the lower portion 7. By combining the centers of gravity CG-M and CG-B along the longitudinal axis L, the tendency of the container 21 to tip over decreases. The extent to which the centers of gravity CG-M and CG-B are aligned depends, inter alia, on the angle of inclination α. The angle of inclination α is very difficult to designate, since it depends on factors such as the height, width and stiffness of the material of the container 21. Another very important factor is the cross-sectional shape of the chamber 22, which is formed by the walls 2, 3 included in the container 21. The choice of the angle of inclination α provides the ability to compensate for the rollover effect

The decrease in the tendency to tip over also reduces the tendency to crease on the connecting portion along the front edge 11 of the container 21. The gas-filled tubular means 15 in the handle portion 8 further reduces the crease tendency.

Thus, the present invention relates to a container blank 1, which is intended for a folding type container 21, the volume of which depends on the relative position of the walls 2, 3 and, accordingly, the degree of filling of the container 21. The container blank 1 can be divided into the upper section 5, the central section 6 , lower section 7 and section 8 of the handle. The front section 6 is formed by the front 9 and intermediate 10 boundary lines, while the handle section 8 is formed by the intermediate boundary line 13 and the rear boundary line 10. Intersections A, B, C, D, in which the front 9 and rear 10 boundary lines intersect the upper section 5 and the lower section 7, form the angles of a parallelogram with an angle α of inclination relative to the longitudinal axis L of the blank 1 of the container. In addition, the central portion 6, along the intermediate boundary line 13, has the shape of a truncated cone symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis L. For an optimally balanced container 21 obtained from such a container blank, this means that the center of gravity CG-M of the portion of the liquid column that is contained in the central portion 6, coincides with the center of gravity of the CG-B portion of the liquid column enclosed in the lower portion 7. This results in a well-balanced container 21 in which the tendency to tip over is reduced in comparison with the containers existing up to now due to the displacement of the centers of gravity. The reduction in the tendency to tip over also reduces the tendency to wrinkle along the front edge 11 of the container 21. Due to the fact that the front boundary line 9, at least along the central portion 6, has a curvature substantially complementary to the rear boundary line 10, very convenient placing container blanks along a continuous strip of container blanks 20, which provides a very low level of material waste. As a result, a container blank 1 and a container 21 obtained from it are created that meet the goals set in the invention.

It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment of the container blank and the container obtained from it. However, some changes and variations are possible, and the invention is therefore limited only by the attached claims.

Claims (11)

1. A container blank (1) comprising a bottom wall (3) and two opposing side walls (2), said walls (2, 3) being connected along boundary lines (9, 10, 13) to form a substantially flat blanks (1) of the container, and having an upper section (5), a lower section (7), a central section (6) formed by the upper section (5) and the lower section (7), as well as the front boundary line (9) and the intermediate boundary line (13), and these sections (5, 6, 7) are located along the longitudinal axis (L) of the workpiece (1) of the container, and the section (8) of the handle, ovanny intermediate boundary line (13) and a rear boundary line (10),
characterized in that the intersections (A, B, C, D) between the front boundary line (9) and, respectively, the rear boundary line (10) and the upper section (5) and the lower section (7) form the angles of the parallelogram containing the angle (α) inclination relative to the longitudinal axis (L) of the container blank (1), while in the parallelogram, the front boundary line (9) forms an angle that is sharp in the direction of the lower portion (7), and
the front boundary line (9) and the intermediate boundary line (13) along the longitudinal axis (L) of the container blank (1) give the central portion (6) a substantially symmetrical shape of a truncated cone. 2. The container blank according to claim 1, characterized in that the front boundary line (9) has a concave curvature with respect to the central portion (6). 3. The container blank according to claim 1, characterized in that the front boundary line (9) has a curvature supplementing the rear boundary line (10). 4. The container blank according to claim 1, characterized in that the handle section (8) comprises a tubular means (15) forming the handle, intended to be filled with gas. 5. The container blank according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower section (7) and the central section (6) together in the container (21) made from the container blank (1) form a volume corresponding to at least 80% container volume (21). 6. The container blank according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a tubular means (14) for filling, said tubular means extending inside the container blank (1). 7. The container blank according to claim 6, characterized in that the tubular means (14) for filling is tapering into the container blank (1). 8. The container blank according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a tubular means (17) in the shape of a spout. 9. The container blank according to claim 1, characterized in that the tubular means (17) in the shape of a spout has an end section (18) with a notch for the start of separation. 10. The container blank according to claim 9, characterized in that the end section (18) is completely or partially separated from the rest of the tubular means (17) in the form of a nose by a zone (19) weakened by thinning of the material, and the end section (19) is manually separated the weakened zone (19) from the rest of the tubular means (17) in the shape of a spout. 11. The container (21) obtained by filling the container blanks, according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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